Excellent writing and a magical setting. I love Maine and the author was able to decribe the Penobscot River to perfection. I was excited to read Gregory Brown as I hadn't read any of his work yet. The aftermath of the Vietnam War was detailed exquisitely, and the writing was excellent. I could not put it down.

This story has nice descriptions of nature but isn't something I would normally gravitate towards I found it slightly shallow and a little confusing but some of it was nicely written

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘿𝙖𝙮𝙨 ★★★★ - This is an Own Voices story about Native Americans (Penobscot Nation) in Maine. I actually also listened to this one as an audiobook and I really loved the narration and the story itself. I would classify this as literary fiction with a strong voice. I am curious what else this author will have in store for us!

Thank you Netgalley for letting me try this one early. I had a hard time getting into it and really struggled to pick it up again to finish. It’s a story of children in the 80s coming of age in a town divided. It follows two brothers with less than stellar parents and a young girl without a mother. Just not my kind of read.

This was just not my taste in books. I found myself having to re-read paragraphs to stay on track with the plot. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

NetGalley provided me with advanced reader copies of both the eBook and the audiobook for honest reviews, so here goes. I started and stopped reading/listening to this book several times. Initially, I wasn’t crazy about the writing. Many of the paragraphs were unnecessarily long, and my mind wandered. The writing seemed scattered, as if the author lost his focus. Shorter paragraphs might have helped in that regard. I had trouble following the narrative as the author jumped from thought to thought. Once I got further in, however, I appreciated the atmospheric, lyrical prose, evidence by my number of highlights. Brown’s placement of adjectives painted gorgeous word pictures and I could see the scenery in my mind’s eye. On the audio side, the narrator had wonderful voice modulation and maintained my interest. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Loved the descriptions of the land, hearing about family struggles and overcoming them. As well as the heritage of the people.

The Lowering Days by Gregory Brown takes a look at what it means to be human in a fallen world. The story follows a young boy and his family as they live on the bay where their ancestors lived, which was also the home to the Penobscot Indian tribe. When a young Indian girl burns down an old mill, the town is divided. The young boys mom writes about it in her paper, called the Lowering Days, The town takes sides, with some calling for justice and others saying it had to be done. Add in some family rivalries and some other small town drama, along with some interesting historical information about the Penobscot area and tribe, an you have The Lowering Days. I found the idea behind the story fascinating and the message was one we need to hear in our society: we all deserve to be heard. However, I found myself wandering during the audio version. I had to force myself to pay attention and focus. The characters did not stick with me. I enjoyed the historical aspects and learning about the tribe, but it wasn't my favorite book. Well written and performed nicely by the narrator, it was still a good story though. Three stars for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a work of art. I knew nothing about Maine and very little about Native Americans before I began my read. Now I am much more informed. The characters were not always likeable but they seemed real. I know people similar to the characters and I enjoy when an author can put so much truth in a book. This is not for everybody but if you found the synopsis to be of interest, you will enjoy this one.

Set in Maine and beautifully written. I'm all about the details and this one did not disappoint. It really brings you into the story. Many points of the story resonated with my own personal experiences. I won't spoil it, but worth the read.

Gregory Brown immerses us in his lyrical book, his pros appealing to our soul while his story reaches our hearts and makes us see the complex relationship between Native and American people in more new lights.

The Lowering Days by Gregory Brown is a book for lovers of language - lush prose and flowing descriptions. It's a book about the natural world as much as it is about man's inhumanity to man. And, if that is your cup of tea, you will likely enjoy this book. If not, well...

Also, the audiobook makes for a rich reading experience under the oval stylings of Nicole Altvater and David Aaron Baker. Total run time is almost 10 hours.

Many thanks to the author, narrators, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to @harperaudio and @netgalley for a copy of this audiobook. It’s good. I enjoyed it. However, I struggled a little bit to stay focused. At the same time I was listening to this I was also reading A Court of Mist and Fury. The story is slower. Not in a bad way. Atmospheric is how the reviews described it. Definitely quieter and less flashy. Considerably less magic.
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It’s about this small town in Maine in the 1990’s. It’s told mostly from the perspective of a man remembering his life as a 14-year-old boy. The town is an old mill town. That was the main employment for many years. Paper mills were bad. Very bad. Maine’s environment was decimated by the paper mills. (For an interesting nonfiction read about what paper mills did to Maine and it’s people I recommend a fascinating book called Mill Town by Kerri Arsenault. You will never look at paper the same.) So the mill has been closed for 2 years. Japanese investors are about to reopen the mill. A teenage girl from the local Native American tribe burns it down. On purpose. As in she planned it for months. Of course, after the mill is destroyed the investors back out and the towns promise of rejuvenation is lost. The residents become engrossed in not only the loss of the economic benefits but with catching the perpetrator. The ripple effects of the fire are felt by everyone in the town.
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It’s definitely a slow-burn type of story. You’ll have to be patient but it is worth the time.

Thank you to Harper Audio for the alc of this book.

The Lowering Days by Gregory Brown is a moody, slow burn of a novel. The book is told from the perspective of David Ames as he grows up in a small town in Maine. The story tells of the tensions that exist in the town when a mill that was scheduled for reopening burns down due to arson. The arson showcases the tension that exists between the members of the Penobscot Nation and others who have settled on their ancestral land.

This book is beautifully written and has so much to say about the environment and about Native Peoples and the choices they make everyday between what they are taught traditionally vs what they need to do to support their families. I really liked how David explains about the stories that he has been through his youth that have been passed down through the generations.

I recommend this book to people who like literary fiction or fiction centered around the environment or Native American tribes. It also has a bit of a family drama element to it. If you like books with a lot of fast paced action, this is not it. This is definitely a character driven novel that sort of meanders through its narrative as an almost folk tale.

The narrator on this one did an excellent job of bringing David to life and building the muddy atmosphere that dominates this novel.

Family. Community. It's always a bit more complicated than it appears on the surface. People living together on the same land for generations, but each with their own struggles and their own spirits. This book grew into an unexpected gem the further in I got. At many points I hated to love some of the characters, but I never loved to hate them. The exploration of humanity, of people, place, time and all that grows beyond and among, within and without...what's important is that we all continue to tell our stories and listen hard to others'. I immensely enjoyed listening to the advanced audiobook provided by NetGalley and give this review freely in the hopes that others will be sure to check out Gregory Brown's beautiful debut.

“Sometimes you have to go after the thing that’s hurting other things...Sometimes change is violent. It’s a shitty mess.”

Per the book blurb, this is a book about the Penobscot Nation in Maine, and the clash between their community and the local whites in regard to a paper mill. For many, the mill is a lifeline bringing much needed jobs and stability to the community. Within the Penobscot nation, though, the mill brings death and destruction to the local rivers and wildlife. But I found this book to be more about two men and how their lives were shaped by a crime. How their anger and hatred festered until it destroyed everything in its path.

What a beautifully tragic ride this was. I enjoyed having the story told through David Almerin Ames’s eyes. Childish decisions made in haste by he and his twin brother set forth a chain of events that ends in tragedy for all involved. And I felt for him. We never have any idea when we are kids how the decisions we make will effect our lives going forward. The Lowering Days, David’s moms newspaper, also plays a roll in how information is dispersed when the mill is burned and a teenager confesses to the crime.

“Loving someone is a fight to keep taking them for who they are.”

The landscape of Maine is described beautifully, as are her rivers, streams and wildlife. This story gets to the heart of the differences between the indigenous people and the whites, and it really made me feel like I was there, watching this story unfold.

I really enjoyed the narration in the audiobook. I am finding that it can make or break how I absorb a book, and this one was a good one to listen to for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Audio and the author for this arc in exchange for an honest review. Available now!

The Lowering Days follows the Ames family and members of the Penobscot Nation in small town Maine in the 70s. The story is told by David, one of the three Ames’ sons, but also intercuts POVs from Molly, a young indigenious girl.

There are two main storylines to follow:
The paper mill (owned by the town’s perceived villain, Lyman Creel) is about to reopen. The mill has contaminated the town’s river for decades and has destroyed the Penobscot water supply. Molly decides to burn it down which literally starts a fire between the two sides of the town. David’s mom, Falon runs the local paper “The Lowering Days,” which is supportive of indigienous issues and she is thrust into the story.

Messy multigenerational love triangle. Back in the cut, Falon had a relationship with Lyman and still has love for him in present day. She is pretty open about it with her husband Arnoux, and fair to say that Arnoux and Lyman aren’t best of friends. The Ames’ boys take the Penobscot’s side after the fire, and do further damage to Lyman’s businesses. The drama really heats up between these two men and things turn violent and tragic.

If Stephen King were to write a contemporary fiction novel I think it might just be this. It has all the key King staples:

✅ Maine is the primary setting, I feel King just owns this state
✅ A lot of characters and descriptions, many unnecessary
✅ Father-son drama, which is emotionally expressed through violence
✅ Tragic ending

This novel is beautifully written and very ambitious. I would have preferred the novel to have focused on one main storyline and explored it more. I just wanted to keep reading about the family and I wanted more from the mother, Falon! She is at the center of most of the drama and she needed more page time IMO.

If you enjoy small town atmospheric stories with a lot of depth then you should check this one out.

The description of the book tells us what this story is about. However, I will focus on how beautifully the story is told. I listened to the audio version of The Lowering Days. The narration was pitch-perfect for the atmospheric tone of the story. I do believe author Gregory Brown has indeed made his literary mark with this impressive debut novel.

I had heard a lot of interesting things about The Lowering Days from others with advanced reader copies. As an audiobook though, I had a hard time getting invested in the plot or characters.

Although I found the story line interesting, it felt very clinical and descriptive with little emotional connection. The main character seemed to have an omnipotent point of view, seeing things from all sides and without bias. His view point was not in line with his maturity level and character.

Unfortunately the characters and storyline didn’t resonate with me and I found myself struggling just to finish. I may try this one again as a physical read in the future. However, the audiobook fell flat.

I received an Advanced reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️💫2.5 stars with a 14+ rating for content

For some reason, I just couldn't connect with this story. I didn't feel a connection with the characters and the storyline in general. I usually will finish an audiobook in 1 to 2 days, it has been 3 weeks. I kept trying to get invested but ultimately I couldn't get into this book.